Two Versions of Flash 2004
Although the Flash Player is the most important tool your customers will need when accessing your Flash web sites and movies, the most important tool you will use is Flash MX 2004. But there are now two versions, so which do you use? The two versions are Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX 2004 Professional.
For most designers, I recommend the use of Flash MX 2004. You will find that almost all the tools you need are there. The only reason I might encourage you to go to Flash MX 2004 Professional is if you believe you will be developing applications that will connect to XML, Web Services, or Databases through the Flash Player. Also, if you think you will be using video within your Flash movies, you may want to consider jumping to Flash MX 2004 Professional because there are some handy streaming media components you can use.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's take a step back and look at what both versions of Flash MX 2004 offers everyone.